ISLAMABAD: Mashaal Malik, wife of detained Kashmiri leader Mohammad Yasin Malik, has urged the United Nations to take notice of human rights violations taking place in India-held Kashmir.
She said at a press conference at her residence that Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, had been languishing in prison in Srinagar since July 8 after the killing of freedom fighter Burhan Wani.
The Kashmiri leader’s life is at critical risk since he was shifted to the Joint Interrogation Centre in Srinagar a few weeks ago.
Mashaal says Kashmiris want the UN-pledged right of self-determination
“My husband has grown very weak and lost over 15kg. Last week he was taken to hospital in army’s custody where his medical tests were conducted and results are alarming,” Ms Malik said.
“His personal cardiologist examined him and advised check-ups for his heart, kidneys and other ailments. His kidney stone has enlarged risking his kidney function.”
She said: “The Kashmir dispute is the oldest unresolved international conflict in the world today. India’s forcible occupation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 is the main cause of the dispute. The freedom movement in held Kashmir is rooted in the struggle of its people for the exercise of their right of self-determination.
“Our message is loud and clear that people of Kashmir demand what has been pledged to them by the UN and guaranteed by the Security Council, the right of self-determination.”
She requested UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to take notice of state-sponsored violence in occupied Kashmir and prevail upon the Indian authorities to immediately cease actions that violated human rights, dignity and fundamental entitlements of Kashmiri people.
In her concluding remarks, Ms Malik said that global involvement in Kashmir would end bloodshed and suffering and also have a direct positive impact on international security by eliminating the regional conflict and the risk of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. “It is in everyone’s interest to settle the Kashmir dispute peacefully without further delay.”
Ms Malik’s mother Rehana Malik and daughter Razia Sultana accompanied her at the press conference.
Published in Dawn October 2nd, 2016
